New build help

TheIllusive Man · 22 Sep 2015 at 18:15

I created a thread on the CPU forum asking for help but they've redirected me here.
Anyway il try to make this as short as possible since im stuck using my phone for now.

My old pc has broken
Have upgraded, but never built a pc from scratch

Need a build for gaming (1080p atleast for a while longer) and watching movies on my tv( which actually may I ask while im here, is it ok to use an HD splitter with my gpu or is simply swapping the cables recommended?)

want as small a build as possible.
Graphics card wise im pretty set on an sapphire 390 nitro.

However since ive never built a pc from scratch, or upgraded solely with gaming and media in mind I have no idea which cpu to go for as a starting point. (also the one component im confident I can safely carry over is my SSD as its only a matter of months old and never had an issue in any diagnostic tests I ran so theres no need to worry about that in the budget)

The ones ive been looking into are
i5-6600k
fx 9590
4690k
Xeon E3-1231 v3

Budget roughly £800, but there is a fair amount of wiggle room to get a build that suits my needs.

Thanks

thenewoc · 24 Sep 2015 at 13:16

My first stab, taking account of you wanting something small I think this would serve as a good multipurpose system if you only want one system that can handle it all. The only slight down side I can see with going small with x99 chipset is only having 2 memory slots so limiting to a max of 32GB but I think 2 x 8GB is still a generous amount. It also may be a bit noisier than purely a htpc built on more minimal specs. Not too sure about PSU's as its a while since I bought one so that needs checking. I've spec'd what I believe to be a decent brand but maybe someone else will say it needs to be higher wattage perhaps? Any requirement for an optical drive since your planning on using it to watch movies? Also I haven't included OS or peripherals.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-546-IN
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-362-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=3059
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-142-AK&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2875
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-456-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=2551
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-415-WD&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1955
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-048-SS&groupid=701&catid=123
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-013-CU&groupid=2362&catid=2279

I'll do a cheaper one later on i5-6600k

thenewoc · 24 Sep 2015 at 14:20

Here's my Z170 / i5-6600k example, same caveat applies to PSU and I've only checked the cooler from a height perspective.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-362-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=3059
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-579-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=3069
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-456-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=2551
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-415-WD&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1955
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-536-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=3078
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-048-SS&groupid=701&catid=123
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-013-CU&groupid=2362&catid=2279
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-028-AL&groupid=701&catid=2330

I've suggested the same HDD for both the above to supplement your existing SSD. Obviously you could drop this or go for the 2TB model but the 4TB one offers better value for money.

Or you could drop the RAM down to 8GB and the HDD down to 2TB and get closer to your budget.

TheIllusive Man · 24 Sep 2015 at 15:21

sorry, but if theres supposed to be a link to a build list in your posts I cant' see them. I can see the link to the RAM product page, but nothing regarding full component lists

thenewoc · 24 Sep 2015 at 15:24

TheIllusive Man said:
sorry, but if theres supposed to be a link to a build list in your posts I cant' see them. I can see the link to the RAM product page, but nothing regarding full component lists

Soz I had to screen capture them as I've only just reinstalled OS and don't have the browser add on to do it like that at the moment. Should be easy enough to search for the product descriptions though.

EDIT: added links to original posts now

dreamcat4 · 24 Sep 2015 at 16:51

For the cooler I would recommend this one:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-005-RT

So long as it fits in there OK.

TheIllusive Man · 24 Sep 2015 at 19:52

Thanks for the help so far, I need to do a lot more reading around on these components before making any decisions. But ive been tinkering around a bit and would something like this be any good?

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=1jqc2a&s=8#.VgRF9ZcViUk
(its easier to take a screen shot than copy and paste individual links since im having to use my phone)

Curious about the possibility of a HTPC gaming machine

thenewoc · 24 Sep 2015 at 20:32

^ that looks fine with the exception of the memory which you've chosen DDR3 and the motherboard is DDR4.

This Corsair DDR4 8 GB kit, same as I linked above, is also on the supported memory list for the motherboard.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-450-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=2551

http://download.gigabyte.eu/FileList/Memory/mb_memory_ga-z170n-wifi.pdf

You've added an optical drive but did you just want to play standard DVD's and not blu-ray?

TheIllusive Man · 24 Sep 2015 at 20:39

Oops, i actually knew to look for DDR4,
Ideally I would like to be able to play blu-ray discs as well, but that case only allows slim optical drives so I just done a quick search and added the first one I saw, I need a pc as soon as possible but ive spent so much time looking into on my tiny phone screen its doing my head in. I will look more into a more suitable optical drive tomorrow.

Thanks for checking over my build

thenewoc · 24 Sep 2015 at 20:50

No worries, it's easily done.

Maybe this one for the optical drive but the slim line ones are a premium in comparison to the regular size (obviously not suitable for these small cases though) or indeed a standalone consumer blu-ray box from Sony. The other word of caution is whilst it's nice to have it all in one htpc box it can't be guaranteed to play every blu-ray on a PC, compared to a conventional consumer set top box type device which would also be a bit cheaper and have the widest blu-ray playback compatibility.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-317-SV&groupid=701&catid=10

I enjoy doing these at times as it makes you see what is available and how much they come out to.

eddiew · 25 Sep 2015 at 10:37

Just my 2p, but I would struggle with 'only' 8gb of memory, even in a gaming machine.

Examples that will pull an absolute ton of ram;
- Cities Skylines
- Modded Minecraft (e.g. FTB, Direwolf20)
- Kerbal Space Program (when the next update hits and it goes 64 bit)

TheIllusive Man · 25 Sep 2015 at 11:19

really? that's one thing im not sure about myself, ive been told different things on different sites, so not really sure how much ram to go for

I like the case http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-422-SV , but to fit my 3.5 hard drive in it ( as three 2.5" drives wouldnt provide enough storage space for me) I need a small graphics card, however again ive no experience with something like this, is it at all possible for someone to give even an estimate of how small a gpu would allow me to fit my hdd?

Quartz · 25 Sep 2015 at 12:30

The only suggestions I would make would be to go for a modular SFX PSU and consider an external USB optical drive.

teabaghead · 25 Sep 2015 at 19:05

Would it be better to add an SSD too?

TheIllusive Man · 25 Sep 2015 at 22:20

it looks like the rvz02 case isnt viable, I need an optical drive and atleast 1 3.5 hdd and since id rather not rely on external components, im looking into the rvz01 and cooler master elite 130 instead